On May 10, 2024, Joanne Dearcopp, 83, passed away in her sleep, at her home in Old Greenwich, where she had been a resident and involved community member for over 40 years.
Joanne was born on October 2, 1940, in Paterson, New Jersey, to Hilma Brandenburg Dearcopp and Walter Dearcopp, a New York City Police Department detective.
After earning her B.A. in psychology from Gettysburg College, she moved to New York and worked at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, the Animal Medical Center and then began her first stint in publishing at Simon & Schuster.
Her first entrepreneurial job was as a sports marketing agent. She was one of the first women allowed in the pits at the Indy 500 and at the Formula One race in Monte Carlo. She represented Janet Guthrie, the first woman driver at the Indy 500, and Lela Lombardi, the first woman to race Formula One. She also represented Olympic downhill gold medalist Barbara Ann Cochran, and the boxer Jackie Tonawanda, who dubbed herself the ‘Female Ali’. She also photographed film stars Charles Bronson and Richard Burton on location.
In Joanne’s own words, “Sports marketing was a lot of fun, but I finally decided to ‘grow-up’ and took a job as a marketing director for Nestle.’ After several years in corporate life, she decided to “go out on my own again” as an independent marketing and strategic consultant, interior designer, movie car wrangler, and ultimately as an editor and publisher. Most notably she started her own publishing company in the early 2000’s, Muse Ink Press, and was instrumental in publishing local writers, as well as the rediscovery of her client and close friend, author Sanora Babb.
Joanne was an avid traveler, sailor, and passionate collector of Native American and Chinese art and artifacts. She venerated ancient history and cultures, had a spiritual curiosity for the natural world, a very positive nature and a youthful enthusiasm for adventure. She was a founding member of the Bruce Museum, and an active member of Greenwich Pen Women.
Joanne, known to her loved ones as “JoJo,” was also a dedicated student of Zen Buddhism for 20 years, and was recently ordained in the traditional Jukai ceremony at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, NY, where she received the Dharma name Jishin (compassionate faith).
JD, Jo, Jozie…Joanne was known by many nicknames to the lifelong friends she’d made in her various professional pursuits, many of them scattered throughout the world now, but all equally inspired by her interests and passions.
Always in the market for “new and interesting adventures,” Joanne also served as a Director of the Old Greenwich Yacht Club. Maybe “I am not really ever ‘grown up yet!”, she commented to fellow members.
She is survived by her sister, Janet Dearcopp, a retired LPGA golf pro, residing in The Villages, Florida.
A small local gathering to honor her memory will be hosted at Greenwich Point Park on Sunday, July 14 at 4:00pm.
Donations in honor of Joanne may be made to the Mt. Tremper Zen Mountain Monastery and Greenwich Pen Women.
To RSVP, or for further instructions on the Greenwich Point Park gathering, please contact zach@indielex.com